BUSINESS: EU seek trade sanctions on US.

BRUSSELS/GENEVA (Reuters) - The European Union, risking fresh tensions with Washington, on Thursday asked for the go ahead to slap trade sanctions on the United States just as efforts get under way to revive global commerce talks.
www.reuters.com

The EU was set to be joined in its request, lodged with the Geneva-based WTO, later on Thursday by nine nations including Japan, China, Brazil, India and South Korea.

The sanctions, which could run to hundreds of millions of dollars of duties on U.S. goods, aim to force Washington to revoke a scheme under which local companies benefit when anti-dumping duties are imposed on foreign competitors.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has repeatedly ruled the measure, known as the "Byrd amendment," illegal.

"The Byrd amendment has raised widespread concerns from the outset as evidenced by the large number of complainants in this case," European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said.

A further indication of the growing rift between the EU and USA.This is right on the heels of the Steel Tariffs which were withdrawn at the last minute before Europe could legally take action according to the WTO rules but after they had caused alot of damage.
My personal view is that a trade war is almost certainly on the cards.
Bush has been playing around with the EU and the WTO and he doesn't have many friends in Europe now.
Europes politicians will relish the prospect of exposing the USA financial weakness in the run up to a Presidential election.
The damage that Europe could expect might be acceptable if it meant no 2nd term for Bush.





[Edited on 15-1-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

In no way am I qualified to make any notable assessment, but isn't Senator Byrd a democrat?
(the one who's name the dumping compensation bill is named for)

And I thought that the Dem's were more against WTO type stuff than the republicans... Therefore, one must wonder which the EU would prefer in the white house, at least as far as international trade goes...

I would think that a Dem in the white house would be even more in favor of compensating American business in the way that the Byrd bill prescribes and hence the way that so offends the EU.

Am I wrong?